


The Slenderman Game

by DiLithiumDragon



Series: Hunters AU [1]
Category: South Park, Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - Supernatural Hunters, M/M, Other, hunters au, slenderman mythos - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-02
Updated: 2018-10-06
Packaged: 2019-05-01 07:34:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,961
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14515500
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DiLithiumDragon/pseuds/DiLithiumDragon
Summary: Tweek finds out about the Slenderman. That means Mole has to play the game if he ever wants his hunting partner to shut up about it.





	1. The First Page

**Author's Note:**

> I assume the "&" in the tags is not a ship-style of relationship, but more of a friendship relationship? Just character interaction in general? Either way, I ended up writing two relationships that haven't been tagged before whoops.  
> Anyway, here's an AU that I've been working out for a few years (and was also mostly inspired by the prompt: Imagine your OTP playing Slender.)  
> Also warning: Mole swears a lot.

Mole hopped the fucking six foot fence surrounding this Podunk park out in the middle of nowhere and landed hard on the ground. Hard enough to make his boots crunch the leaves, dirt, and grass so loudly it nearly sounded like he'd stomped on a bunch of spilled cereal. Nothing down here could phase him and he would stick to that belief. He stood up, brushed off his knees, and pulled his shovel off his back with one hand, the radio off his belt with the other.

He took a moment to scroll to the right channel, then raised the thing to his mouth and clicked in the talk button. "Oyy, I'm in. Now what?"

"You brought a flashlight, correct?"

That voice was too smug and British to be Tweek. Mole rolled his eyes. "I'm not some stupid novice."

"Right, of course, it's not like you've done this particular hunt a million times before. How could I forget?" Gregory responded with the appropriate amount of sarcasm. Typical. "At least refrain from smoking while you're there. It'd probably just aggravate our target."

Mole sneered at the radio and, childishly defiant, pulled a cigarette from his shirt pocket to place between his teeth. This was stupid. "Noted."

"I'm going to assume you pulled a cigarette out, anyway. You can be so petulant sometimes."

Gregory sighed, though it was barely audible in the crackle of the radio. Mole shoved the thing back onto his belt and paused on the flashlight beside it. It was a precaution against this taking longer than expected, as it was midday currently. How the hell a park could exist without any streetlamps when there were fucking buildings in the area was a mystery that would have to go unsolved. He shook his head, left it and gripped his trusty shovel with both hands, then walked forward into this park.

The radio cracked again, this time with Craig's voice. "Hey, asshole, make sure to check in with us periodically. This is new territory for all of us."

Mole paused to pull the radio back off his belt in order to speak into it again. "Fine, bitch. Do you have any new information for me?"

"Just a few things so far." Gregory took back over. Mole had the distinct feeling that Craig had been used as a way to trick Mole into responding immediately, but disregarded it. Craig was right, this was a learning experience for all of them. Gregory continued, his voice calm and informative. "Apparently, it sprouts extra tentacles from its shoulders should you make it mad. And should you catch sight of it, don't look directly at it as it takes that as a challenge. Also, don't go charging head first at it like I know you've been planning on doing."

"Yeah, you can't just out-brute force the thing." Craig joined in. "Reportedly, it's powerful enough to distort time and light."

Mole exhaled past the cigarette held between his lips. It'd have to remain unlit for the duration of this hunt. "Got it. Anything else?"

"There's more lore surrounding this thing than we'd previously thought." Gregory gave another sigh.

"We'll keep you updated as we sort through all of it." Craig agreed.

Mole grimaced, lightly biting down on the end of the cigarette. "Thanks. Get Tweek to help out, he shouldn't be sitting around and panicking himself into a coma."

"I'm not sure--"

The radio cut out, a sure sign that Craig had taken offense to whatever it was that Gregory had been about to say. Or Craig hadn't appreciated Mole's sentiment. Either way, Mole shoved the radio back onto his belt and continued on his way, deeper into the park.

This whole thing had been Tweek's fault in the first place. Tweek had run across a few rumours of some creature called the Slenderman in this area and hadn't been able to stop worrying about it for a week. Mole had known from the moment Tweek mentioned it that they'd have to hunt the dang thing, but having to go in by himself because Tweek was too scared was a little maddening. Having Gregory and Craig giving orders from their base was just the icing on the whole situation.

Gregory seemed born to give orders, handing them out to Mole and Craig as easily as if they were Gregory's personal hired guns or something. That bastard. Craig, despite being as incensed as Mole was about it, had no problems with ordering Mole around, either. That 'give no fucks' attitude was probably what did it.

Mole's attention was caught by the sight of a much larger tree stump and the white piece of paper posted to the bark. The thing was as tall as the other trees in the area, but was far too wide to have been the same breed as the rest of the trees in the area. He walked over towards the thing as Gregory's voice came on over the radio once more.

"Anyway. Looks like there's a general consensus that this thing can teleport and -- oh."

Mole snatched the paper off to take a good look at the thing. A strange little scribble of the Slenderman itself was the centre point and a few pine trees were doodled in around it. It was very rudimentary, just a disfigured stick person wearing a suit. Like a child had drawn the thing. Mole frowned and folded the thing to shove into his jacket pocket before grabbing his radio. "Oyy, does anything talk about pictures or drawings being placed around its nest?"

When he released the talk button, a mess of static was his only response. Had those two fuckers changed channels on him? Had they shut their side off to discuss whatever it was that Gregory had been about to say? It wasn't like there could be any interference out here, with no lights or other electronics to get in the way. Had the range been killed? No, this creature didn't seem to be sentient enough to be smart enough to do something like that.

Whatever the case, Mole tried once more to get a response. "Oyy, you fuckers, I was asking you a--"

The thing screeched, then went silent. No more static or anything. A shudder went up Mole's spine and raised the hairs on the nape of his neck. Suddenly, the silence had become oppressive. None of the trees looked alive or real any longer. They rustled, but there was no sound or wind that would cause them to move like that.

It was a bad idea to be standing around in the open like this.

He took off running, making his way further into the forest.


	2. Sudden Snag

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The next logical step: Imagine your OTP hunting quietly in the woods, when person A's foot gets caught in a spring-loaded trap.

Mole growled as he smacked the side of the radio. "Get back to me, Gregory. Craig, did you find anything about this thing being a total bitch?"

As soon as he let go of the talk button, the radio simply crackled static back at him. So much for having the full picture while he tried to track and hunt this mystery down. So much for being the idiot talked into this hunt by his own partner. Stupid Tweek. Just had to go and be paranoid about this thing that hadn't even done anything, as far as they could find.

The radio screeched and Mole recoiled from it. Then it snapped on and Gregory's voice came through. It was garbled and unintelligible, but it had been something. Mole shoved some of the tree branches out of his way (they were even feeling fake by this point, like the whole area was devolving somehow) and continued stomping through the underbrush. "You're not coming through clearly. I'm pretty sure this thing is messing with my equipment."

"Mole!" Gregory sounded so relieved, finally coming through loud and clear. "Thank god, we were--"

Mole stepped onto something decidedly not the ground and it snapped with a loud clank, digging into his boot's side and making him hiss. He looked to see the damage and gave a frustrated groan. A bear trap. Who the fuck was crazy enough to set this thing up out here, in the middle of this trashy ass park that had no lights and no other signs of life? At the very least, it was the clamp type and not the teeth kind.

"This thing is, indeed, able to mess with electronics." Gregory continued, unawares of the dire strait Mole had found himself now in. "Keeping in contact is going to be very difficult from here on out, so Craig and I are going to give you all the information we found out and then. What then, Craig? What should we do here?"

Mole tugged lightly against the trap and winced as it refused to give. This fucking sucked. Craig's voice answered Gregory in perfect monotone. "One of us should probably go down there and help him."

"I-I should go! I'm h-his partner, a-after all."

Tweek's panicked, too-loud voice butted in and while Mole definitely appreciated the sentiment, he doubted Tweek would be any real help considering his situation. Considering Tweek had refused to go with him on this one in the first place. Mole clicked his talk button before they could argue further amongst themselves. "Listen, I don't mean to alarm anyone, but I've found myself in kind of a situation right now."

There was a pause as they all comprehended his words. And, of course, Gregory was the first to speak up again. "Unless you're staring the monster down, which I highly doubt because you're coming in loud and clear, then I'd say you're far from a situation yet."

Mole actually laughed at that. He went to reply, still chuckling. "What if I told you I'd stepped into a bear trap?"

"Oh." Gregory paused for a moment. "Well." Another pause. Craig could be heard cursing up a storm in the background, though had probably moved away as it was faint, and Tweek began shrieking, though also further away. Then Gregory kicked himself back into gear and was speaking rapid fire. "Fuck, Mole, get out of there now. Please tell me you have something that can get you out of there and quick."

Mole snorted through his nose. "Sure. I keep my bear trap pliers in my back pocket, along with my blowtorch and dynamite."

"Don't -- now is not the time to be joking!" Gregory hissed, sounding as panicked as the rest of them for a change. "You can't stand still for too long, you have to keep moving or it will--"

The radio screeched again, this time higher pitched and more insistent. This time, Mole opted to shut it off. He couldn't stay still too long or it would get him. Understood. Now the only problem was getting himself out of this mess before it managed to find him.

A shudder went down his spine as a strangely oppressive atmosphere settled down slowly over him. Again, the trees and the greenery around him seemed too fake to be real somehow. Shit. He gritted his teeth and yanked against the clamp. When it refused to give, he struck his shovel down into the gap and tried to leverage it open for a moment. He didn't have enough footing to properly do this. He couldn't get the proper force without some proper leverage. Shit, shit, shit.

He wasn't going to make it. It was going to catch him.

A warbled, low voice droned something inhuman somewhere nearby, catching him off-guard and making him jump. No. He wasn't about to go out this way. His panic pounding in his ears, he clanged his shovel down against the metal again and yelped as it only clamped tighter in response. Goddamn it.

White noise filtered into his ears and his breathing quickened. It couldn't be coming from the radio, he'd shut that thing off. He glanced around quickly, backing up so his back was against a tree trunk (as his back thunked against the thing, all he could think was 'fake') and keeping his shovel at the ready.

The radio suddenly screeched again, then went silent. Fuck.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These are all shorter chapters since I wrote them a while back. I also posted one of these on tumblr, but have since rewrote it, so, y'know.  
> Mole also doesn't haven a written accent because I can't read it when he does, so it's more of an ease of access sort of thing than that he doesn't have one at all. ;; (He still very much so has an accent, I just can't write it for him because then I can't read it later and it stresses me out ;; )  
> (why didn't anyone tell me there was a typo right at the start of the first chapter agh)


	3. Help Arrives

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And finally: Imagine Person B of your OTP carrying around Person A after A breaks their leg.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sudden POV shift for a single chapter, whoop.  
> I don't.. actually know how a broken ankle feels? So hopefully it's not too far from reality here.. ;;

Some things never changed.

One of them being: whenever Gregory had to manhandle the man he knew as the Mole, Mole never stopped struggling against his grip. Even when it was for Mole's own good, the stubbornness kept him too squirmy for Gregory to properly handle.

Gregory paused mid-step as Mole's good foot managed to find its way into smacking against Gregory's hip. "Come off it." Gregory snarled, a stronger reaction than he'd meant. He adjusted his grip on Mole's legs so they were no longer free to flail about. Not that it would last long, considering how slippery Mole could be when he wanted. "I rush all the way out here in absolute panic and this is the thanks I receive?"

"Fuck you."

Mole growled, continuing to squirm against Gregory's grip. He wasn't able to break free again so easily (it helped that Gregory had a good enough iron grip with the position they were currently in), but it was enough to make Gregory have to adjust his grip again. As Mole managed to get his other leg free, Gregory rolled his eyes, caught that leg by the ankle and squeezed. Mole yelped and smacked the back of Gregory's head.

"Fuck you!"

"Feel this?" Gregory squeezed a bit harder, making Mole cringe and dig his fingers into Gregory's shoulders. "You broke your ankle. How were you planning on getting out of there on your own?" Gregory released the ankle and made sure to get Mole's leg back within his grip, this time much gentler. "I know you think you can do everything yourself, but it's good to rely on your partners sometimes. Especially in situations like this."

Their main concern should've been to get out of there without any more incidents. Mole was lucky to have only gotten away with something broken. Mole was lucky to have lived.

Gregory's chest seized up and he refused to think about that anymore. Instead, he continued walking and half-glanced up at Mole, frowning. "How did you manage to get away from that thing?"

Mole remained curled up in pain, his face ducked into the top of Gregory's head, and ground out the words through his clenched teeth. "How are you expecting to jump over ze fence with me like this?"

Gregory pouted a moment (he'd asked the question first this time; Mole always did this), but Mole did bring up a good point. He relented, letting it go just this once. "I wasn't going to try, exactly, I was just going to do it."

"It's a six foot fence, idiot." Mole huffed out a breath, ruffling Gregory's hair. "Unless you crashed into it with your very fucking expensive car, I doubt we'd make that shit ze way we are."

At least Mole was willing to refer to them in the plural, acknowledging that they were a team for the moment. Gregory smiled to himself and came to a stop at the edge of the fence that surrounded the entire place. "Don't worry, I brought the proper equipment for this job."

"Bastard."

Mole huffed the word out, still very much paralysed from the pain. Perhaps Gregory had overdone it back there. He cringed, letting go of Mole's worse-off leg in order to dig the wire cutters out of his pocket. Thank god this fence was a simple, thin chain link one and not something more heavy duty. "Of course, if you're feeling up to it, we can simply finish up here and take out that monster here and now. I'm sure that, in our current state, it wouldn't stand a chance against us."

"Fuck you." Mole's tone remained aggravated and hostile, but his body tensed. "Are you insane? That's a terrible idea."

"Ah, ah, your body doesn't match your words." Gregory chuckled, pulling the wire cutters out and moving to start working at the fence with them. "Could it be that the great, fearless Mole, who's been a Hunter ever since he was a baby, is actually frightened by this monster?"

"If you were any kind of sane, you would be, too."

The words were softer than Gregory had expected, making him pause. That hadn't been at all what he'd expected from his little joke. This was more serious than he'd first thought. He glanced back at the trees a moment, then clamped the first link into his wire cutters. "Keep an eye out for me while I get us out of here."

"Yeah, how are you planning on accomplishing this, exactly? Didn't you say we can't just sit still or it'll--"

Mole stopped suddenly, right as Gregory snapped through the wire. A chill ran down Gregory's entire body and he was immediately on alert. Mole, similarly, had frozen up, so at least they were on the same wavelength there.

They had to move.

Gregory shoved the wire cutters back into his pocket, made sure he was holding onto Mole well enough, and took off running back into the woods. Mole started, but held on just as tight as Gregory was holding him. They were both a little tense, then. Gregory ran until the oppressive atmosphere seemed to lighten, then slowed and panted to catch his breath. He continued walking, continued moving.

"S'fake." Mole mumbled.

Gregory had to take a deep breath before he could properly ask, "What is?"

"Ze trees. Ze ground. Everything." Mole clarified, as if that made any sense. Gregory looked around, but the trees around them seemed real enough and the ground below his feet made the proper noise as he walked along, so he wasn't exactly sure what Mole was even talking about. After a moment, Mole continued in a much more aggravated tone. "So, now what?"

Gregory relaxed at the more familiar, more reassuring attitude. "Now, we either continue playing its game or continue on with the plan. I don't recall seeing a gate, so our only option really is to force our way out of here."

"Fucking hell." Mole groaned and made to move. For a moment, Gregory was sure Mole would go back to struggling, but was pleasantly surprised to see that Mole was simply reaching to grab his radio off his belt. "It'd be easier to just get Craig and Tweek over here, too, so they can break down ze fence or blow ze place up."

Gregory couldn't help himself from smiling. "You want them to blow it up while we're still in here?"

"It'd spare me from your fucking face, at ze least."

Gregory deflated. He'd deserved that after aggravating Mole's injury more than needed. Mole fiddled with the radio for a second before it erupted into static, making them both jump. Immediately, Gregory took off running once more. The forest around them seemed so much more imposing than it had been before, the nesting place of this thing that could pop out from anywhere and be on them in an instant. They broke out into an opening too quickly and he barely managed to avoid slamming them into the side of a red decrepit truck, making Mole hiss.

"Bastard, are you even paying attention?"

"If you think you can do better, why don't you carry me for a while?"

Gregory shook his head, panting. Just nearby was the building Gregory had found Mole in, a place seemingly made entirely of tiling. Gregory continued through the area until they came across some steel drums by shipping crates, all abandoned probably decades ago. He approached those and turned around to set Mole down on top of one of them. Predictably, Mole put up as much of a fight as he could. "We can't stop moving, haven't you figured that out yet?"

"I need a moment to breathe." Gregory heaved out his breath, raising his arms above his head. "Running for the both of us is wearing me out more than I thought it might."

Mole settled in his spot on the steel drum and seemed subdued. "Fair enough. I guess." He shook his head and mumbled something incoherent in French, then glared back up at Gregory. "We're going to have to fight that bitch."

Though Mole did a good job of keeping his tone steady, his eyes conveyed his uncertainty about their ability to do so. Gregory, however, nodded along and drew his pistol, turning around to face the open area. Mole pulled his shovel off his back, just as determined as Gregory, but the main point was to make sure the thing couldn't reach him. Gregory had to defend his partner. Even as Mole's radio began screeching again and they both tensed, the atmosphere growing more oppressive, Gregory's resolve was unbreakably set.

It wouldn't be able to hurt Mole again. Gregory would kill it before it came to that.

...

It appeared out of nowhere, right in front of them. Gregory was sure that Mole shouted and that he screamed, but they made no sounds. The thing, just as the research had pointed towards, wore a suit, had longer arms than any human-shaped beast they'd ever come across, and no face.

It wanted.

It wanted.

It stepped towards them slowly and Gregory was frozen. He was lost. It's face seemed endless and he couldn't get himself to move, couldn't think past the fact that it was nearing them and it wanted.

It held out one of its long arms, reaching towards them.

It wanted.

The thing slithered around Gregory's arm, gently tugging him closer. It was almost reassuring. Gregory couldn't think straight. He went along with it, his movements halting and jagged as if his body was protesting on its own where his mind couldn't.

Mole shouted again, but the only sound Gregory could hear was the increasing static as the thing pulled him closer.

It would take.

It would take.

It took.

...

Then, suddenly, a crumpled piece of paper was tossed past Gregory's head and tapped lightly, ineffectively, against the thing's chest. It released Gregory in a fluid motion and Gregory could breathe again, could move, could think. He glanced back at Mole, who was similarly panting and out of breath and looked to be the one who'd thrown the paper.

The monster plucked up the paper from where it fell on the grass and carefully opened it up.

Satisfied.

It turned its back to them and gave a loud, droning noise and Gregory had to cover his ears from how loud it was. Two smaller, similar monsters, supposedly children, crept out from the undergrowth and crowded the adult. It handed the paper to one of them and then they all vanished, as if they'd never been.

Gregory, once more, looked back to Mole, breathless. Mole let his head fall back and knock against the metal, mouthing a single word.

'Fuck'.


	4. Uneasy Conclusion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> All that's left is to regroup and move on to the next hunt.

 

"What do you mean it let you go?"

Craig glared at the two of them, arms outstretched to his sides and inadvertently protecting Tweak while he was at it. Mole shook his head, stuck hitching a ride on Gregory's back, and glared down at the ground. "It didn't fight us."

"It simply. Let us leave." Gregory spoke as if in a daze, still wide-eyed and breathless. Frankly, Mole couldn't blame him for once. "I'm not. Entirely sure why. But. It let us leave."

It hadn't been hostile. It hadn't wanted much of a fight. It just wanted that damn paper back. And it was capable of breeding. Craig groaned and stood up straight to place his hands on his hips, understandably frustrated with the situation. They hadn't killed it, which meant Tweak wouldn't be able to calm down and some other hunting team would have to be notified and sent in to take care of it. And Mole had broken his ankle on top of it all, putting him out of the job for a good while.

The iron-willed team of Gregory and Mole had failed to take their target down. This would burn up the grapevine for sure.

It had nearly taken Gregory and Mole had broken his own goddamn ankle to get away from it. His head was still reeling from the whole experience.

He shuddered, aware again of the dull throbbing in his ankle. That had to be taken care of soon and was a welcome distraction from the current situation. He smacked the back of Gregory's head half-heartedly with a hand. "Get me to ze couch and get ze med kit."

"Right."

Gregory absently agreed, walking over to the couch to deposit Mole right onto it, then leaving to fetch the medical supplies. Unusually agreeable for once. Mole grumbled and worked on getting his boot off so he could properly assess the damage. Gregory had done a number on it when he'd squeezed it and Mole wasn't about to let Gregory forget that for a while yet.

Tweak was drawn over to watch, Craig following close behind. Upon seeing how swollen the area was, Tweak cringed and recoiled. "Wh-What happened? How'd y-you do that??"

"You can't go back after it like that." Craig added helpfully.

Mole shot a glare over at Craig, then refocused on feeling out the injury, trying to see if he'd dislocated something or if he'd snapped something. "Thanks. I hadn't noticed."

"Tell me what happened so I can finish the hunt."

Craig sat back to wait, so pragmatic. Tweak's head snapped up as he looked over to Craig. "N-No, wait! You m-might get hurt, t-too, if you go!"

"I-I protest as well!"

Gregory cried out, slamming into the corner wall in his rush to get back to the main room. He held the med kit in his hand and looked as out of breath as he sounded and was a genuinely concerning sight. Mole had to bite back his unease at Gregory's dishevelled composure. Even Tweak seemed taken aback by how off-kilted Gregory was acting. Craig, however, was stalwart. "What do you propose we do, then? Let it continue causing disturbances for the locals?"

Gregory frowned, aggravated. "We shouldn't. The p-proper thing to do. That would be."

"That would be to not rush out of here in a panic, on your own, when one of us is in trouble."

Craig said the words sternly, a little too loudly, and Gregory flinched back at the reprimand. Still, Gregory continued fighting back. "We're still. Mole's still. It-It worked out!"

"Did it really? Look at the state the both of you are in!"

"Oyy!" Mole shouted above them, effectively cutting into their argument and shutting them up. They both looked to Mole, still ready to keep it up, so Mole glared at the both of them. "If it let us go, and we didn't uncover any signs of it killing anyone, then it's a non-hostile. Meaning we don't have to finish ze hunt and as long as we keep tabs on its activities, it should be fine."

He all ready had too much new information to add to his journal from all of this. Craig didn't look ready to accept that easy an answer, but backed down. "Fine."

"Fine." Gregory agreed, relaxing and leaning heavily against the wall. "Let me-Let me see your ankle, Mole."

He forced himself up and over to where Mole sat. Mole snorted through his nose, leaning as far back away from Gregory as he could manage. "And let you help when you fucking aggravated ze shit out of it? Fuck you."

"I-I." Gregory knelt down and pulled his gloves off in order to do the exact thing Mole had just been doing, only with delicate and softer hands. The gentleness always caught Mole by surprise and was the only reason Mole allowed Gregory to persist, despite both of their aggravation. "I admit, that was a bad call on my part, but you wouldn't have stopped struggling otherwise. And had I dropped you, it would've done much worse to this sprain than what I did."

"Bullshit." Mole huffed. It had no real bite to it, however, and he settled in as Gregory began working on splinting and wrapping the injury up. "But it looks like nothing's snapped or broken, so you got lucky."

Gregory gave a short grunt in reply, too focused and still rattled. Mole glanced over to Craig and Tweek, who were both watching with unabashed interest. The moment Tweek noticed Mole's stare, though, he had the decency to immediately turn away and at least pretend he hadn't been raptly invested in the moment. Craig, on the other hand, met Mole's eyes with a challenge. That sort of look Craig always got about him when Mole was being ridiculous and Gregory was just trying to help.

It was a look Mole definitely got too often. Because someone, namely his hunting partner, couldn't keep his mouth shut about those little drunken rants Mole had gone off on. Not that it would've made a difference, Craig had known about this weird little dance ever since he and Craig had first been partnered. Still, Mole consistently regretted ever getting drunk and trusting such personal information with Tweek to begin with.

At least Tweek knew better than to try and help with the bandaging. The last time the kid had tried to help (it'd been a bite from a Kelpsie on his arm, nothing major), Mole had sucker punched him and Craig had gotten very upset and it became a huger thing than it should've been. Craig turned and left the room, heading into the single bedroom of the safe house and leaving the three of them in the room on their own.

Mole couldn't vouch for how smart it was to leave several hunters alone for long periods of time. Especially when they could be as volatile as him and Gregory. Then again, they were known for their efficiency, not their intelligence. Mole rolled his eyes and worked on pulling his journal out of his bag. "All right, that's good enough. You're done."

"Uh, excuse me, Mole." Gregory shot a very annoyed look up at Mole and tightened the bandages, as if to emphasize his words. Mole winced, but at least Gregory looked like he'd regained his footing and wasn't so off-kilter anymore. "I have yet to tie this off. And, really, we should take you to a hospital to make sure there hasn't been any lasting damages."

"I can tie it myself." Mole growled and attempted to kick Gregory off with his good foot as he opened his journal in order to start taking notes. "And a hospital? Are you crazy? How many hospitals have we been to that have turned out to be secret nesting places for vampires or ruguru or those other fuckers?"

Gregory caught Mole's foot in his kicking attempt and raised an eyebrow at Mole. "All the more reason to go, is it not?"

Mole abandoned his journal for the moment and grabbed at the bandages in Gregory's hand. "Shut ze fuck up and let me--"

Gregory pulled back in perfect time with Mole's grab. "You're so thick headed, how can you be so--"

Mole managed to catch Gregory's wrist and dug his nails in. "Stop playing keep away and fucking--"

"Stop it!" Tweek shouted, glaring down at them and effectively cutting the both of them off. "Shut up a-and help each other l-like real friends! S-Stop being petty a-and bickering o-or I'll shoot th-the both of you in the kn-kneecaps!"

His shoulders shook in a mixture of panic and rage, but it had worked. Mole and Gregory both stared up at him, compliantly frozen and quiet. From the other room, Craig's voice joined in with a muffled, "You can't shoot them in the kneecaps, babe."

Tweek deflated. "Oh."

Still, Mole released Gregory's wrist and sat back, allowing the other man to finish. He knew better than to take a chance with his twitchy, determined hunting partner. It was what made Tweek a great partner in the first place, after all. Though now that Mole gave it a passing thought, Tweek tended to do this most often concerning matters with Gregory. Mole might've needed to actually address the issue directly with Tweek if that was going to be the recurring case.

Once Gregory had finished tying off the bandages and sat back, Tweek came over and sat down beside Mole. "S-So." He hesitated a bit, looking unsure about his question, then pressed on, shutting his eyes tightly and rushing the words out in a jumble. "Wh-What was it like? D-Did it l-look as scary a-as the pictures? Do you r-really think it's a-a non-hostile? Are w-we really gonna h-have to keep tabs o-on it?"

Gregory smiled wearily, but Mole didn't share that sentiment. Not at all. He grimaced and focused back on jotting down the notes of the thing into his journal. "Yes, it met ze description. Yes, we're really going to have to keep tabs on it. And no." He turned his frown back on Tweek, who had opened his eyes and now looked as distressed as ever. "I don't think it's completely non-hostile. But as long as nothing else tries to provoke it, then it seems placid enough to be defined as such."

Tweek bowed his head and tugged at the front of his shirt nervously, another habit that seemed more aggravating than it actually was. No, Mole found the fact that Tweek, for the life of him, couldn't button the shirt up evenly or correctly to be much more of a headache. Gregory sat back, looking satisfied. "Such a flowery way to say 'if nothing bothers it, it bothers nothing'. I think your English has gotten better, ami."

"And I just informed Token about our adventures." Craig said as he entered the room, butting in before Mole had a chance to kick Gregory in the face. Tweek perked up, but squeaked in surprise as Craig plopped his hat down onto the kid's head as he rounded the back of the couch to lean his elbows onto the space beside Mole. "Now we take you to a hospital."

He met Mole's gaze directly, unwavering. Mole glared right back. "I'm fine."

"Bullshit." Craig easily and quickly hefted Mole up and out of the couch, into his arms, without warning. "C'mon, Greg, you, too."

"M-Me?"

Gregory stood, looking ready to help in case Mole struggled too much. Unfortunately, Craig was way stronger than he looked and Mole relented to sulking and being carried off. Tweek hopped up to his feet as well, tugging on the earflaps of Craig's hat and at least not fidgeting with his shirt anymore. Craig nodded in response and motioned to the door with his head, which Tweek understood first and ran over to open it for him. "Someone has to be the adult here and fuck you for making it me."

Mole cracked a smirk at that and puffed out a breath to keep himself from laughing. "Bitch."

"Asshole."

Craig smiled, too, and carried Mole out to his car. Fuck, Mole needed a smoke. His lungs were beginning to feel choked for breath. Craig deposited him in the backseat, probably sensing this, and Mole rolled the window down in order to lean his arm against it, pulling a cigarette out of his jacket to place in his mouth. Gregory and Tweek joined them in the car, Gregory locking the door behind him and Tweek, and then Craig was driving them off in the direction of the town they were nearest to.

They made a motley crew. And that had been probably the worst hunt Mole had ever attempted in his life. Still, it didn't chalk up to the weird that was that demon and blond kid. He lit the cigarette, took a drag, inhaled the sweet smoke, and sighed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's finished, finally..... wow that took too long. ;;


End file.
